The President Runs Away from His Party's Culture of Corruption

We are currently facing the worst ethical crisis in our nation's history. There are now a record number of criminal probes and investigations underway involving high-ranking Republicans in both the legislative and executive branches, and there may be even more on the horizon. Yet the President tonight failed to even address the extensive scope and high cost of the rampant corruption consuming both his party and his administration, which is one of the most important issues affecting the state of our union today.

The President's remarks were inadequate and incomplete because he failed to effectively confront the issue of ethics reform and addresses the egregious abuses of power by the Republican Majority in the United States Congress. His remarks on creating an alternative energy policy for the United States rings hollow when one considers Bush's own dismal record on the issue. He failed to take responsibility for a harmful energy policy written by oil company executives, and a healthcare policy that hurts seniors and the poor, as designed by big insurance and pharmaceutical companies. President Bush also ignored the widespread cronyism and corruption which has taken hold in his own administration and has directly impacted the lives of every single American. It is clear tonight that from foreign policy to domestic policy, from the War in Iraq to the culture of corruption, that this is a failed Presidency.